Post-Training Chat

Over the next month, Jin An became reclusive. Throughout the entire base, aside from a select few, hardly anyone saw him.

He spent the whole month training.

He had long since used up the time he had accumulated in the Simulation Space. Fortunately, Karp was still loafing around on the island. Otherwise, Jin An would have taken many more detours in his Haki training.

Furthermore, he discovered that physical constitution and Haki reinforced one another. With his physique, cultivating Armament Haki was somewhat easier than it was for ordinary people.

The stronger one's body was, the more adaptable it became to Haki. Under Karp's guidance, Jin An progressed at a rapid pace.

In less than a month, Jin An's Armament Haki had grown several times stronger than before, and the area it could cover had expanded significantly as well.

With his current strength, he could hold out for a few more moves against Karp.

Unfortunately, his Observation Haki had not improved much. Perhaps it was related to his mental strength.

He still had no idea how to train his mental strength, so it remained stuck at 59 points.

Still, all things considered, he had gained quite a lot over the past month.

At the training grounds behind the base, Jin An lay flat on the ground, his eyes half-closed. His clothes were soaked with sweat, clearly showing that he had just undergone intense exercise.

Although his eyes were closed, he was not resting. Instead, he mobilized his mental strength to sense his surroundings.

After a month of exploration, he discovered that the farther his mental strength could extend, the farther his Observation Haki could detect. The two were closely connected.

The furrowed brow on Jin An's face showed that his current mental strength was clearly still unable to meet his needs.

Jin An opened his eyes and sighed softly. "My Observation Haki can only cover one island. Improving it is way too difficult, isn't it?"

He remembered Karp telling him some time ago that Haki training was a long process. Once one's Haki reached a certain level, it would develop other special abilities.

For instance, it was said that Observation Haki, once trained to an advanced stage, could sense events that would happen in the future. But he was completely clueless about such things.

Karp, seated on a reclining chair nearby, had long grown accustomed to Jin An's training.

Heaven knew how shocked Karp had been when he first saw Jin An train. He had nearly blurted out that the kid was a freak.

When this brat trained, he practically did not treat himself like a human being. He chose whatever was most dangerous. It was Karp's first time seeing someone be this ruthless toward himself.

"Finished training? Come over and rest for a while." Karp patted the rocking chair beside him.

He had discovered that South Blue truly had quite a few good things. The rocking chair beneath him was perhaps the thing that suited him best. Lying on it as it gently swayed was incomparably comfortable.

"I've told you, training should be done in moderation. Overtraining harms the body."

Karp sipped his tea and patiently advised Jin An. He held extremely high expectations for him.

The Marines were not particularly short on fighting strength right now. Karp felt that Jin An had no need to improve his strength with such urgency.

After Rocks died, his pirate crew fell apart. Every capable person aboard left the group to seek their own path.

At present, the Marines were already the strongest force in the world. The pirates fought independently, battling one another to the death over the illusory title of One Piece.

Just as the saying went, "Together, they are a blazing fire; scattered, they are stars filling the sky."

If Jin An knew what Karp was thinking, he would definitely complain that it was precisely because too many people in the Marines thought this way that the world was so chaotic.

Of course, maintaining this chaos was exactly what the World Government wanted. They deliberately maintained the balance of the world.

Those below fought and conquered one another, while those lofty nobles could enjoy their lives without a care. Meanwhile, the commoners had to pay astronomical Celestial Tribute for that temporary peace, funding their pleasures.

"Vice Admiral Karp, your strength is already enough to fear no threat in this world. Of course you can choose a comfortable way of life."

"But I could face the threat of death at any time. If I don't work hard, are you going to support me when the time comes?"

Jin An gave Karp a helpless smile. He had his own understanding of this world. It would only grow more chaotic in the future.

Only when his life was no longer threatened could he loaf around happily like Karp.

"Forget it. Handle it however you see fit."

Karp acted as though he had not heard Jin An's last remark and picked at his ear. He still depended on Sengoku's snacks to get by; how could he afford to support a living person?

However, Jin An's words did give Karp an idea.

"My son is clearly about the same age as you, so why does he seem like such a hotheaded idiot?"

Jin An's gaze flickered when he heard Karp mention his child.

Influenced by his father, Monkey D. Dragon had hoped to become a Marine of justice since childhood. He was still a passionate young man, filled with deep expectations for justice.

"That kid has been quiet and withdrawn since he was little. He can barely find any friends his own age. It really worries me."

After saying that, Karp even put on an exaggerated sigh, looking like a parent who had exhausted himself over his child.

Jin An curled his lip almost imperceptibly. Ever since he was young, what annoyed him most was people showing off their children. Fine, your son is impressive. Can we please skip this topic...?

As far as he knew, Monkey D. Dragon was around twenty now, two years younger than him. Yet he was already a colonel at Marine Headquarters, and there was no padding to that rank whatsoever. He had earned it all through real battles.

"So, I want my boy to come learn a few things under you."

After Karp said that, Jin An's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg. What kind of situation was this?

He was being asked, as someone who had only just become a colonel, to be the superior of a big shot who was about to be promoted to commodore.

Was Karp not awake yet, or had Jin An trained so hard that he was hallucinating?

Karp waited for a while without hearing Jin An's answer and found it strange. Could this kid be unwilling to take charge of his troublesome son?

"I don't think I have anything I can teach him..." Jin An replied uncertainly.

"You don't need to worry about that. Whether he can learn anything is for my son to think about. You just need to teach him properly." Karp was unconcerned.

A drop of cold sweat slid down Jin An's forehead. As expected of the ruthless man who had entrusted his grandson to mountain bandits, Karp's words left him completely unable to argue.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as agreement."

Karp laughed and immediately settled the matter, giving Jin An no chance to refuse.

This kid really was hard to fool. Dragon had caused him quite a few problems lately, so sending him to South Blue for a while was a good choice.

"Vice Admiral Karp..." Jin An sensed that something was not right.

"Ah, this rocking chair is so comfortable. I should bring one back for Sengoku when I leave..."

After finishing his tea, Karp nimbly climbed out of the rocking chair. With his hands behind his back, he swayed his head as he walked away from Jin An.

"What an old rogue..."

Looking at the cup without even a drop of tea left in it, Jin An suddenly felt that he was so pure and kind.